My Husband’s Ascension C46
Chapter 46 Transgression
Beaconlight Mountain was thronged with onlookers, drawn by the commotion.
Of the disciples from the seven great sects who had arrived earlier, roughly half had already dispersed, returning to their sects to carry out the strategic arrangements agreed upon during their deliberations.
The remainder, upon learning of the Demon Realm’s Successor’s presence, not only halted their planned departures but hastened to transmit messages back to their sects, summoning elders and sect masters capable of decisive judgment to come lend their support.
The sun stood high at midday. Beneath the shade of the mountain gate stood the emissary from the Demon Realm.
Though demons were generally larger and more imposing than ordinary cultivators, this emissary was surprisingly moderate in stature. His black robes were tailored to fit neatly, and his smile was courteous to the point of formal perfection. He exuded a faint, deliberate air of conciliation.
“The Sect Master of Cloudculm Abode has arrived,” someone called from the crowd gathered around the grand hall’s perimeter.
Eyes turned to the right, where a score of sword-wielding disciples flanked the young female sect master of Cloudculm Abode.
Her figure was slender; the cultivation of the Divine Farmer Dao imbued her with a serene grace, making her approachable. Yet, meeting the gaze of hundreds of onlookers, she betrayed no hesitation. Her steps were calm, measured, and confident as she walked through the sea of scrutinizing gazes.
“You are the emissary of the Demon Realm?” Zhao Zhao paused at the mountain gate and asked.
The emissary inclined his head.
Though his smile was meant to be as benign as possible, its perfection and prolonged constancy gave it an unsettling, almost inhuman quality that sent a chill down one’s spine.
He extended a letter to Zhao Zhao. “Our General has received certain tidings: the Demon Realm’s long-missing Successor appears to be at Cloudculm Abode. The General rejoiced greatly and has sent me to negotiate peace with the Cultivation Realm, to escort back the Successor. I have also brought gifts, in gratitude for Cloudculm Abode’s care of the Successor over the years.”
With a flourish of his long sleeves, he produced from the void a stack of ornate chests.
The lids opened to reveal brilliant spirit stones, alongside several boxes of rare Demon Realm materials, treasured armaments, blades and halberds that gleamed with otherworldly light.
Many onlookers’ eyes lingered greedily on the treasures.
Zhao Zhao merely cast a brief glance, then smiled. “Your General is indeed generous. Yet, I fear there may be a misunderstanding. Cloudculm Abode does not possess the Successor you seek. I do wonder from whence your General obtained such false tidings, he must find the source and settle this matter.”
The emissary’s smile did not falter. “The news cannot be false. Perhaps the Sect Master has been kept in ignorance, but it matters little. I bring the Chishui Cauldron (赤水鼎), crafted in the same lineage as the Demon Lord’s divine artifact. Drop the Successor’s blood into it, and his identity shall be revealed.”
Under her sleeves, her hands glistened with faint perspiration.
Zhao Zhao’s gaze fell upon the bronze cauldron rising in his palm, and she felt her blood surge, her mind momentarily reeling.
Li Feng stepped forward, tilting his chin in disdain. “Do you expect us to simply let you test it? Even if you find him, what then? Your Demon Realm has long wreaked havoc upon the Cultivation Realm, leaving suffering in its wake. So now that you’ve supposedly found him, you imagine you can just take him? Do you actually believe the Cultivation Realm bends to your whim?”
The emissary cast Li Feng a brief glance, then, maintaining his courteous smile, averted his eyes. “This matter concerns peace between the two realms. I represent the General to convey the intentions of the Demon Realm, and will only speak with those empowered to make decisions.”
The implication was clear: a mere yao familiar like Li Feng was unworthy of direct discourse.
“You!!”
Xiao Bai hurriedly intercepted Li Feng, who looked ready to crush the emissary’s head with his bare hands.
Zhao Zhao’s expression darkened. “Forgive my frankness, but the General of the Demon Realm is not a solitary figure—if not dozens, then at least a dozen hold that rank. Power shifts in an instant; how could you presume to represent the peace between the two realms?”
“As long as Cloudculm Abode delivers the Successor, we shall serve him faithfully, as the sole command of the Demon Realm.” The emissary’s gaze swept slowly to the crowd behind Zhao Zhao. He spoke deliberately, his tone calm, as if measuring every word. “If the Sect Master harbors doubts, you may confer with the elders of the Cultivation Realm. In the meantime, I shall remain at the foot of Beaconlight Mountain, awaiting your reply. But be advised: the limit is three days.”
Zhao Zhao drew a deep, measured breath. “And after three days?”
The emissary’s smile remained unchanged. “After three days, it matters little. Only a warning: news spreads swiftly. If a decision is delayed, other Demon Realm generals may learn of the Successor’s presence and converge upon Beaconlight Mountain. A battle then would be inevitable, and hardly convenient.”
With a respectful bow, he withdrew the chests, and in the blink of an eye vanished from the mountain gate.
Though much of what he said was ornate pretense, one truth could not be denied: news spreads swiftly.
…
That evening, the sect masters and elders of the seven great sects convened within Cloudculm Abode at Beaconlight Mountain, deliberating through the night over the Demon Realm emissary’s demand.
“...And the decision?”
Disguised as a Kunwu disciple, Xiao Bai returned to Moonlit Peak. Zhao Zhao and Daoist Ming Jue held their breaths, awaiting his report.
“Lord Tianxuan persuaded them all,” Xiao Bai said, bowing his head. “Tomorrow at dawn, the emissary will be invited up the mountain to verify all present within Beaconlight Mountain.”
The weight on Zhao Zhao’s heart settled in silence. This was the collective decision of the sects, immutable and resolute.
Daoist Ming Jue, seated across from her, exhaled softly. “I anticipated as much. Rong Yu and the others hold no ties of kinship or friendship with those sects. Delivering him will placate the Demon Realm. From the Cultivation Realm’s perspective, it is a logical exchange.”
Simply put, since he’s not one of ours, there’s no cause for hesitation.
Li Feng sneered at the verdict. “Pathetic. If this were our Yao clan, no matter whom they sought, harming one of ours would demand vengeance in kind. Negotiations? Hah! To hell with that. Not slaughtering their quarry as a banner sacrifice would already be mercy.”
“Such is the Cultivation Realm; everything weighed against gain and loss—”
Daoist Ming Jue’s words had barely left his lips when Zhao Zhao rose abruptly.
The crowd tensed.
“I entered the Cultivation Realm seeking my husband across a thousand miles. And these exalted immortals care only whether I disturb their Hetu-Phala or obstruct their ascension.” Her gaze hardened, unwavering despite the anxiety and fear within her. She turned toward the main hall of Beaconlight Mountain and spoke each word with deliberate weight.
“If their heart for cultivation is so steadfast, then their prowess should serve to eradicate demons and uphold the Dao. Why must my most precious things be used to resolve their concerns? Tonight, I will take Rong Yu and leave. This matter concerns none of you. You need only conceal it—do not risk yourselves on our behalf.”
Her words were directed at Li Feng and Xiao Bai.
Her seven-year contact with Li Feng had just reached its conclusion, and though her contact with Xiao Bai had no fixed term, it could be severed simultaneously.
Tonight, should she depart with Rong Yu from Cloudculm Abode, discovery would mean standing against the Cultivation Realm itself.
Zhao Zhao did not know what obstacles lay ahead, but under no circumstances would she compel others to risk themselves for a selfish whim of hers.
“…What foolish talk,” murmured the dog yao, who, typically at the mercy of children’s hands, ruffled her hair, lips curling in a cold humph. “Do not treat us yao as you would these life-fearing cultivators. I, Li Feng, have never feared anyone in battle.”
Xiao Bai, eyes glimmering with unshed tears, added, “We arctic foxes do not lightly pledge ourselves. Once we do, whatever our master desires is right. If the master leaves without us, it simply means we are no longer needed…”
Daoist Ming Jue looked at them. Though a faint smile still lingered at his lips, his gaze passed beyond the window, toward Mount Ling in the distance.
Dao Lord Tianshu had already entered Mount Ling for a full day.
If he were here now, the situation would likely be far more manageable.
…
Meanwhile, within the Orange Ode Hall of Mount Ling.
The vast, shadowed hall lay in a dreadful stillness. The corpse, newly slain, still retained a trace of warmth. Its neck lolled weakly to one side, and the blood seeping from beneath it pooled together, spreading soundlessly across the stone floor.
“Still not coming out?”
Blood spattered across the Dao Lord’s robes, white as freshly fallen snow, like a spray of gongfen plum blossoms blooming in the dead of winter.
He stood amid the bloodstain, tall and straight, like a slender bamboo of refined grace, or a noble son of the mortal world steeped in poetry and learning. He was utterly out of place amid the suffocating air of slaughter.
“If you refuse to show yourselves any longer, Mount Ling will likely see its bloodline severed before the day I ever become a human pillar.”
After a long while, a calm and dignified female voice echoed through the hall. “As expected of Dao Lord Tianshu. Without even drawing your Single Intent Sword, you have slain most of the elite cultivators Mount Ling spent decades nurturing. Still, I must ask. Was it disdain for Mount Ling that made you refrain from drawing your sword, or is it that you are no longer capable of controlling the Single Intent Sword?”
The smile at the snow-robed Dao Lord’s lips did not waver. “Even without the Single Intent Sword, I can still slaughter all of Mount Ling.”
Silence followed. Then, a soft chuckle sounded through the hall, carried by distant transmission.
“Dao Lord, you are a once-in-a-century prodigy. Of course I believe you are capable of such a feat. Still, I fear you must act quickly. My devotees are already streaming up the mountain. Another group has set out for Beaconlight Mountain—” She paused then continued, “Does Dao Lord happen to know that although Cloudculm Abode is a rising power within the Cultivation Realm, it hides dragons and crouching tigers within? Not only is there one fated to slay you, the sect also harbors the Successor the Demon Realm has sought for many long years.”
His eyes as still as night snow flickered faintly. “You are colluding with the Demon Realm.”
Wu-Shaman Xian answered with a gentle laugh. “I merely convey the revelations granted by divination. We are but the gods’ agents in the mortal realm. The Demon Realm, too, is among the myriad beings of this world. Mount Ling has aided the Cultivation Realm for ten thousand years. It is only fitting that the Demon Realm have its turn.”
He knew well that abandoning the campaign against Mount Ling at this moment was no wise course.
With his present cultivation, striking while Mount Ling remained unprepared and pressing deep into the formation in one decisive push was the strategy most likely to end everything in a single blow. If he withdrew now, the next opportunity would not come so easily.
Yet—
The instant he heard that the Demon Realm had set its course for Beaconlight Mountain, his body moved ahead of thought, turning away and striding forward before he could stop himself.
“Blinding the masses, rapacious intentions.” The smile vanished from Dao Lord’s face as he spat the words coldly. “Shameless.”
From somewhere within the hall behind him, the Wu-Shaman Xian of Mount Ling spoke at leisure, her voice unhurried. “When cultivators pursue the Dao, it is taken as only natural. Yet when the people of Mount Ling seek the Dao, it becomes ‘rapacious intentions’?”
Dao Lord Tianshu did not turn back as he replied, “If you place such faith in your gods and act solely on their oracles, then hear this. Heaven never granted Mount Ling the power to cultivate, yet you refuse to submit to the Heavenly Dao. Instead, you feed your own desires with the lives of others. That ambition alone is a crime beyond absolution.”
At the moment he stepped out of Orange Ode Hall, a low, meaningful laugh rose behind him.
“All people have desires. The more the Heavenly Dao forbids them, the more fiercely they burn. Between you and me, which of us will truly prove guilty beyond redemption?”
